The invention relates to a holding element for fastening in a hole of a carrier part having a central shaft extending along a longitudinal axis, a supporting part projecting laterally and fastened to the far end of the shaft, and at least one arm, a fastening end of which is flexibly fastened to the shaft.
Holding elements of the kind indicated are used particularly in the automotive industry, to fasten structural parts of various types in simple fashion to a carrier part provided with a hole. Here mounting should be possible by a single inserting operation with little force and the assembled holding element should be able to transmit as great as possible holding forces to the carrier part. Since the thickness of the carrier parts and hence the length of the fastening hole frequently varies, the requirement to design the holding element so that it is equally suitable for a variety of hole lengths also exists. In addition, it is required that the holding element be usable for a variety of hole diameters.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,316,245 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,566,660 disclose two variants of holding elements for fastening structural parts to a carrier aperture. One variant has a pin with a conical front end, to which are attached a plurality of tapered holding lips arranged spaced apart one after another, which on two opposite sides are interrupted by slots. The holding lips are elastically deformable and, when the holding element is pressed into the carrier hole, are bent over inward.
In the second known embodiment, the holding element has springy arms on opposite sides of a shaft, which are fastened by one end to the insertion end of the shaft and extend diverging in the direction of the other end of the shaft. Upon insertion into a hole, the arms are at first pressed together and spring back into their starting position again when their free ends emerge from the hole.